


Half in the Shadows; Half Burned in Flames

by knightinsourarmor



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Blood and Gore, Body Horror, Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, Crisis of Faith, F/M, Gen, Heavy Angst, Mental Health Issues, Post-Canon, Religious Conflict, Slow Burn, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-10
Updated: 2016-11-25
Packaged: 2018-09-02 02:10:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8647639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/knightinsourarmor/pseuds/knightinsourarmor
Summary: "He could see her laying there on the cold stones, daggers deep in her chest. Blood trickled down from the wounds, staining the bright white clothing and slowly spreading. Her body was raised, prone, on a dais and the blood moved down it’s sides. Pike Trickfoot was dead and he had killed her. "Ten years after the Chroma Conclave disaster Tal'dorei is recovering. Vox Machina has split, although they all still keep in contact, their bonds too strong to ever truly break. Vax'ildan travels alone fulfilling his duties to the Raven Queen by hunting down those who cheat death and the natural order of things. Liches, vampires, and all kinds of nasty creatures. But one night someone goes wrong. He has a vision of murdering Pike and he knows that this is a sign. Pike is his next mark, but Vax is now torn between his duty and his friendship. When he finds Pike again and starts traveling with her to figure out what is going on, soon he has a new problem to add to the mix. But what is happening and why has the Raven Queen marked Pike as an abomination to the natural order? Every step closer to the truth could lead to a secret that neither are prepared to discover but could be the only thing that will keep Pike alive.





	

**Author's Note:**

> There is no multi-chaptered fic of Pike'ildan so I'm fixing that.

He could see her laying there on the cold stones, daggers deep in her chest. The hilt of the daggers caught the light which seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere at once and he recognized them as his own. Blood trickled down from the wounds, staining the bright white clothing and slowly spreading. Her body was raised, prone, on a dais and the blood moved down it’s sides. If he stepped too close, Vax’ildan would get her blood all over his boots. It had already stained his hands. 

Pike Trickfoot was dead and he had killed her.

Vax’ildan awoke with a jolt, panting. Although the room was humid from the summer heat, he shivered violently for a moment, his entire body freezing. His vision swirled before him and Vax felt nauseous. His head hurt as well and for a few seconds it was a struggle to pull his thoughts together. All were familiar, if irritating, symptoms he had experienced time and time again. But tonight they seemed to be worse than normal. Or maybe he was just imagining that because of what it meant.

The loose sheet that covered his body was tossed aside as his skin temperature returned to normal. The window in the room was open halfway and moonlight spilled in. For a moment as he closed his eyes he could feel the blood pouring out from Pike’s chest beneath his hands. If he knew that it wasn’t real, he could have sworn that if he looked at his hands they’d be covered in the blood.

“What the fuck.”

Vax stood, beginning to pace. He wasn’t sure how late it was or how little sleep he had gotten. He was hold up in some small town in a tavern. The room was small and had only a few necessary items in it, but Vax’ildan never needed much these days. He could make do. Besides he had just finished finding and ending a troublesome Lich. Now he was making his way to Whitestone to see Vex and Percy. Their children as well. Vex’ahlia just had her second child only months ago. It would be good to see his family once more before he went on any other long missions. Perhaps Keyleth would be there when he arrived or one of the others. Perhaps Pike....

Vax shut his eyes tightly not wanting to think about it. He had to, eventually, but for now he wanted to ignore what just happened. What his dream meant. It couldn’t be true. Not someone like Pike. She would never. Yet he knew that there was no other explanation. He could pretend all he wanted that it was just some sick, dark dream, but the reality of the situation was that the Raven Queen had sent it to him. To let him know that she was next on the list.

“I don’t understand. Why would you send this to me? Haven’t I been loyal and everything you wanted? Why would you-”

Vax’ildan didn’t have time to finish as he was interrupted by a loud squawk. From the semi-open window a raven flew in, landing on the nearby desk. She pecked at the desk near the candle as if to say to him that she wanted him to light it.

"You know you don't need the light, right?"

The raven pecked once more and he sighed. After fumbling a little, the candle was lit, emitting a slow glow. The raven peered up at him and Vax reached down to pet her, running his finger over her head and back. He couldn't say that the raven was his pet or companion. She wasn't anything like Trinket was to Vex. In fact she wasn't the only raven that kept Vax company these days. He had somehow accumulated an unkindness of ravens. This one though was the one who spent the most time with Vax and had been the one to approach him first. He knew her from the others since she had a crack alongside her break near the top. 

"Hey buddy. How are you doing?"

The raven squawked back at him. Vax chuckled, the small encounter making him feel slightly better about his dream. Vision. Whatever it had been. Vax'ildan sighed, laying back down in the bed, the raven squawking again at him. He did not fall back asleep for the rest of the night. By morning he was ready to set off for Whitestone. 


End file.
